This is Sheriff Peanut Butter Brickle. It has been said before that life goes on with or without you. And when you think about time, which is something that dogs don’t do very much, but I am not a regular dog, you have to wonder. What were things like before you, and what will things be like after you?

For us, every time we have moved campsites, and that has been a lot of times the past year and a half, Girl Person always says goodbye to the campsite. Some sites, she doesn’t have long farewells, but some of our hearts do remain in a few.

And as we pull away, Girl Person always says that she wonders if the birds there will miss us, or the butterflies, or the ants or the bees.

 

She wonders if the next people will be nice to them or appreciate them for the short time that they are there too. Does Girl Person think too much? Does Girl Person worry too much? Oh, I am sure that she does. And since we are so much alike, I understand it. Because I worry about it too. Will they remember how handsome I was? Will they ever see a more handsome dog? But I already know that answer.

Have you ever loved someone so much that even things that you think have nothing to do with them, make you remember them? Girl Person thinks of her Pappy very often.

I wish those days could come back once more
Why did those days ev-er have to go

Oftentimes, there are specific conversations that they had that she will talk about and tell us about, and every time, we have to pretend like we have never heard it before. But that is ok, because we like to remember him too.

I wish those days could come back once more
Why did those days ever have to go
I wish those days could come back once more

One day, years ago, she was watching their favorite TV show at the time, American Idol. Pappy had just began to forget things a little more every day, but he liked to watch that show with Granny and Cuddles, and Girl Person’s dog at the time, Skanky.  This was before I graced them with my presence, by the way. She said that as she sat there, she looked around the room and realized that her time left with everyone there would probably be short, and she wanted to let each one of them know how much they meant to her. As she went to sit by Pappy in his recliner, she told him how much she had appreciated everything he had ever taught her.

She thanked him for teaching her about the orange trees, she thanked him for teaching her the importance of family.

She thanked him for all of the things he had taught her about gardening, and for giving her the experience of growing up with the cows. She was trying not to talk too serious, even thanking him for putting up with her and her cousins all those years!  Oh, they were bad…

Sneaking out the back door
To hang out with those hoodlum friends of mine
Greeted at the back door
With boy thought I told you not to go outside

But he got her meaning behind the words. He looked at her in a way that only Pappy could do, and he told her that his time was short, that he wouldn’t be here forever. Girl Person told him not to say things like that, but he continued. Pappy said that when he was younger, he could not ever have imagined getting old, and told her not to get old.  He said he thought he had all the time in the world with his family.  He never pictured the days when each one of them would not be there…one by one. He told her that he was realistic and he knew that he would not be around for much longer. He told her that he didn’t want to go, that he wanted to stay. He said he wanted to be with his family forever, and that he was scared. Quite scared.

I wish those days could come back once more
Why did those days ev-er have to go
Cause I love them so

Girl Person told him that she understood, although she really didn’t. She had many more days left.  He did not.

She told him that she would never go one day without his memory. She told him that he was truly her best friend, that it didn’t matter the years between them, and she told him how much that he and Granny had made a difference in her life, and always would.

She promised him that she would make a difference for others too. And as Granny brought a fresh batch of burnt, microwaved popcorn to them so that they could finish watching “their program”, she let it go. She let it go to enjoy that moment, and the time they had left. And she was right, their time was short. Because by the next season, when the only ones left in the room to watch their show was Girl Person and Granny, I was there too. And Digby would come later. So would the peanuts in place of the popcorn. New memories were made, but the old were not forgotten.

And so. That is how we are even feeling now as we leave each place behind. How can camping make Girl Person remember her Pappy and Granny?  She always thinks of things they would like in each place, or what they would think. We say goodbye every time to our campsites, not only leaving a little bit of ourselves behind, but our family too.

So as you look around the room this week, even today, live in the moment, but say what you need to say. Do what you need to do. Appreciate what and who you need to appreciate.

Can there be any good in goodbye? Perhaps. For me, when I say goodbye to myself after looking in the mirror for so long, I know that when I see myself again, I am going to be so impressed. And so for those that we have had to say goodbye to, the good can be in that they taught us so much, they prepared us for maybe another path in life’s journey. And although Pappy would have never understood what in the world we are doing right now, he would have liked to hear the stories, Granny would have liked to worry about us, and Skanky would have liked to chase all kinds of critters at every stop. One minute they were all in that room watching TV.  Now only Cuddles and Aunt Person is there.

But since me and Deputy Digby are along for the ride right now, we will take time today to think about those who would have liked to be here too. And we will live it up for them.

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How can you live your life in gratitude for someone else and what they taught you?  Can you start now?  One day you will wish for these days once more.  Appreciate all you can before it is too late.

-Sheriff Peanut Butter Brickle

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